![]() ![]() Isaiah 53:6 makes the observation, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way.” 1 Peter 2:25 says, “You were straying like sheep.” In Mark 6:34 we read that Jesus, upon seeing a great crowd “had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” That is because God’s people, and this means us, my friends, tend to act very much like sheep. Sheep are used throughout the Bible to refer symbolically to God’s people. But many of those references in the Bible are not referring to the ovine category of mammal that we commonly call sheep. Shepherds are of course responsible for taking care of sheep, and sheep are mentioned in the Bible even more often than shepherds, more than 500 times, more than any other animal. So we can rightly say that a major reason shepherds are so prevalent in the Scriptures is because shepherding was a very familiar reality for the people who lived in biblical times.īut there is another reason why Scripture refers to shepherds so many times. Other writers of Scripture, if not shepherds themselves, were at least very aware of the importance of shepherds and sheep in the nomadic and agricultural life of the Hebrews and other peoples in biblical times. It should come as no surprise that Moses, who is credited with writing the first five books of the Bible, and David, who is credited with writing most of the psalms, would each include in their writings references to the vocation with which they were most familiar, that of being a shepherd. The best-known shepherd in the Bible was King David, who was also the author of most of the psalms, including the 23 rd Psalm. ![]() We know that shepherds were the first people besides Mary and Joseph to see the newborn Christ child. And shepherds are found not only in the Old Testament. Abraham was a shepherd Moses was a shepherd. Many other well-known biblical characters were shepherds as well. We read early in the book of Genesis, chapter 4 to be exact, that the very first shepherd was Abel, who we know also became the first victim of murder, at the hand of his brother Cain. But did you ever wonder why the Bible contains so many references to sheep and shepherds? Well, part of the answer lies in the reality that being a shepherd was one of the most common and familiar forms of livelihood in biblical times. Some of the most familiar and well-loved passages of Scripture contain references to shepherds and sheep. ![]() In fact, the word “shepherd” appears in the Bible at least 61 times. These two passages are just a small representation of the many references to shepherds in the Bible. Then Jim read for us from John chapter 10, where the Lord Jesus speaks about the shepherd of the sheep. We read responsively the 23 rd Psalm, where the psalm writer describes his relationship with the Lord as being like the relationship between a sheep and a shepherd. You may have noticed that both of our Scripture passages this week have in common that they speak about shepherds. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. ![]() When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,Īnd I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. You anoint my head with oil my cup overflows. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. I will fear no evil, for you are with me Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, The LORD is my shepherd I shall not want. Sermon notes 05-03-20 The Voice of the Shepherd Pastor David King ![]()
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